In gas turbines one of the limitations on gas temperature, and therefore efficiency of the gas turbine engine, is the ability of turbine blades to endure the high gas temperatures. It is accordingly known to cool the external surface of airfoils by conducting cooling air through an internal cavity in the blade and through a plurality of small passages discharging the air. It is desirable that the air exiting from these passages remain entrained in the boundary layer on the surface of the airfoil for as long a distance as possible downstream of the passage providing a protecting film of cool air between the hot mainstream gas and the airfoil surface. This use of cooling air itself decreases engine efficiency and therefore it is desirable to use as small an amount as possible of cooling air. Accordingly, the designer is challenged with obtaining maximum cooling with a limited amount of air.
Typically the airflow is metered by small metering openings at the inlet to each air passageway. Since available pressure differential is fixed by other features of the engine design, the flow is established by sizing these holes. Metering at this location also provides appropriate distribution between the various airfoil cooling slots.
The angle which the flow through the passage makes with the airfoil surface and its direction with respect to the hot gas flow are also important factors. It is generally known that the closer that this cooling air comes to being tangent with the surface, the better the cooling effectiveness.
High cooling air velocities are preferable to achieve maximum cooling effect. However, where the direction of introduction of air is not completely parallel to the surface high velocity airflow is projected into the main gas stream thereby increasing the mixing with the gas stream and decreasing the effectiveness of the cooling.